Brrriiinnng. The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning. You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think. A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing. Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters. In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?

    The way most of us spend our mornings is exactly opposite to the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking. Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we're unfocused. If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed. Sleepy people's lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving. By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you're missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer.

The trip you take to work doesn't help, either. The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons (神经细胞), making inspirations less likely to occur. And while we all should read a lot about what's going on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day's work is done.

    So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving? We'd set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead. We'd stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation. We'd take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic. And once in the office—after we get a cup of coffee—we'd click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer. 

    The tough economy is bringing new shoppers to the secondhand market.Plato's Closet in Charlotte,NC is a private company,which mainly buys and sells used clothes.While Charlotte has outstanding secondhand stores offering high-end and graceful brands for women,most of their stock applies to adults.Plato's closet targets teens and those in their 20s.

    Plato's Closet,with stores in Matthews and the university area,sells clothes and accessories（装饰品）that are currently popular at about one third the retail（零售）prices.

    The two hottest brands,for buying and selling,are Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch.Even though the offerings tend to be suitable for young people,there are a variety of shoppers at Plato's Closet of varying ages.Women in their 30s,40s,and older could easily find a purse,jacket or piece of jewelry they like.

    If you are selling

    Unlike higher-end resale stores which usually work on consignment（寄售）,Plato's Closet buys on the spot.

    Items can be gently used,but must be in very good condition.

    Clothes should be less than two years old and styles should be the same as those still being sold at the shopping center.

    There is no negotiation;prices are set company-wide.If what you sell amounts to $30 or less,they'll give you cash.More than that,you'll get a Visa cash card.

    Secondhand success

    Don't get discouraged if you can't find something on your first trip.Resale shops are always getting new lists of goods and change their styles with each season.

    Be sure to check each piece carefully before buying.

    Price comparison

    Jackets: New York & Company black blazer,$12; retail: $37.

    Pants: Express Editor-style pants,$12; retail: $69.90.

    Shoes: Nine West black peep-toe pumps,$12; retail: $89.

    Jewelry: Necklaces,$3-$5; retail: $18-$30.

    Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents' home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register (收款台), I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.

    I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend's. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.

    I wrote him and his wife a thank­you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.

    Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I'd left the lights on all day, and the battery (电池) was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership—a shop selling cars—was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.

    “Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.

    “Thank you” — two powerful words. They're easy to say and mean so much.

    DESIGN-A-LOGO CONTEST

    We need a logo that will be the perfect sign of our great new Wellsville Skate Park. We would like those of you who are counting the days until the grand opening to design a perfect logo that can be used on stationery, business cards, fliers, brochures, posters and T-shirts. A well-designed logo will provide an opportunity for young artists to receive recognition as well as great prizes. If you are interested, here are the things you need to know:

    Logo Requirements

    Your design mustn't have copied anyone else's.

    Your design must include no more than two colors.

    The words “Wellsville Skate Park” must appear in the logo.

    The logo should be presented on 8×11 paper in every shape.

    Submission(提交) Details

    Your name and address must appear on the back of the logo design.

    You need to include a one-page written explanation of the design.

    Deadline

    Mails will be accepted between July 10 and August 15.

    Winning designs will be posted on our website at www. wellsville. skatepark. com on August 20.

    Prizes

    First Prize: a digital camera

    Second Prize: a one-year pass to Wellsville Skate Park

    Honorable Mention: a T-shirt with the prize-winning logo

    MAIL DESIGNS TO:

    Wellsville Skate Park Logo Contest

    Riverside Recreation Center

    1295 New Rockford Hwy, Riverside, VA 23226

    Breakdancing is set to make its debut(首次亮相) as an Olympic sport at Paris2024, Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris organizing committee, said on February 21". Skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing which have already been added to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, have been invited to return in Paris.

    Estanguet said the choices responded to a need to make the Olympics "more urban" and “more artistic". "We have chosen to present the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with the four sports because they are creative, appealing to youth and completely in line with our vision. They reflect perfectly Paris 2024's identity.”

    Breakdancing is an example of a sport "which can be played anywhere and anytime in urban and other environments." It appeared at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in the form of head-to-head "battles". In competitive breakdancing, "breakers face off in "battles" against each other, either as individuals or teams. Breakdancers use- a mix of physical and artistic skills combining elements from gymnastics or acrobatics(杂技).

    The IOC had announced that the number of competitors at Paris 2024 would be restricted to 10,500, which limited the opportunity to add sports. But the organizers said the inclusion would not necessitate the construction of permanent facilities and would involve just 248 competitors, including 32 breakdancers. The surfing events are likely to be held in established surf center such as Biarritz or Lacanau in southwest France.

    The inclusion still needs to be rubberstamped by the IOC, which is expected to decide on which sports to add in Paris after next year's Tokyo Games.

I traveled to Hawaii several months ago, in part to cover a story on invasive plants and animals and their impact on the state. As I worked on this story, I kept thinking about the fact that some plants and animals become uncontrollably invasive when they're brought into a new ecosystem, while others don't. For example, over the past two hundred years or so, there have been approximately 20, 000 non-native plant species either intentionally or accidentally brought into Hawaii alone. But only a small part of those plants — 200 species or so — have become invasive, threatening the environment, the economy, or human health. 

An example from Hawaii's forests: the invasive plant strawberry guava thrives as it gives off a chemical that prevents all other plants from growing nearby, and it also absorbs more water than native species. What makes these particular species so successful? Most of the reasons involve how a particular species interacts with its new environment. First, invasive species may be highly adaptable to a variety of climates. Second, they are usually quite fecund (多产的), which ensures that they can multiply rapidly. Third, they are usually threatening when it comes to resources like nutrients and space, easily crowding out their native counterparts (对应的物种). And finally, invasive species thrive when there are no natural enemies or pests in their new space.

How can we eradicate invasive species once they're in place? Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to do that — conservationists would have to notice that the species is a problem before its population has established and grown to an uncontrollable size. Instead, most conservationists battling invasive species aim for control in key ecological pockets.

It is a constant battle, though, and humans are always playing catch-up. If you're thinking of planting unusual plants in your garden or keeping a foreign pet, perhaps reconsider and go for a native one. You never know when they might escape and tip over an ecosystem.